I’m so excited to be returning to one of my favorite events this March: the Liberty States Fiction Writers Create Something Magical Conference in New Jersey. It’s a wonderful event that I enjoy each year and highly recommend attending. I am honored this year to be hosting an interview each week with the attending speakers! It begins today and will continue each week leading up to the conference. I hope you enjoy! ~Jillian
Today the Liberty States Create Something Magical Conference Speaker Interview Series continues with author Dee Davis:
- What made you want to become a writer? How early in life did you start writing?
- I have to confess that the urge to fill a blank piece of paper with words started pretty much the moment I figured out how to string letters together to write. Storytelling has always been a part of my life, starting with my daddy and I making up stories about the people around us wherever we might be—a restaurant, the mall, a ballgame—you get the idea. In junior high I had a poem published in the local newspaper and in high school I won the National Council of Teachers of English award for writing. But even with all that I never considered writing as an occupation. In fact it wasn’t until I was facing the big 40—and having a bit of a midlife crisis—that the idea began to truly take form. My first book, Everything in its Time was published in 2000 just after my 41st birthday!
- Is there one piece of advice you would give an aspiring writer?
Write something every day. Remember that getting published takes commitment and hard work. Treat writing as a career. Listen to your heart. Learn everything you can about the business. Join a writers’ association. Believe in yourself. Be open to criticism. Write what you love. Remember that dreams can come true. Okay… that was more than one <g>!
- Who is on your bookshelf?
My favorite author is Mary Stewart. When I sold my first novel in 2000, I treated myself by buying hardback copies of all of her books! I also love Robert Ludlum, Robin Cook, Michael Crichton, Barbara Samuel, C.S. Lewis, Mary Jo Putney, Lorraine Heath, and Tessa Dare. My newest auto-buy is Anna Campbell.
- Can you tell us about one of the most memorable moments in your writing career thus far?
I have truly been blessed with this career. And have had so many amazing moments. But one of my favorites came from a letter I received from a woman who picked up one of my books while bedridden with the flu. She wrote to tell me that she stayed up all night to finish it and then goes on to say that although she loved it, she wouldn’t be able to tell her friends because the story was just too titillating. I love that description!
- Tell us about your newest release/current work in progress.
I am currently working on a new romantic suspense series. The books center around an organization called Triad. It’s called Fade to Gray. Here’s a quick teaser:
“People find themselves in deep trouble all the time. Sometimes because of Stupidity or greed. Sometimes just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But regardless of how it happens, they all need help. Expert help. People capable of cleaning up messes without leaving collateral damage. Welcome to Triad…”
- Tell us a little about your workshop at the Create Something Magical Conference.
Plot makes up the backbone and structure of a story while pacing gives it the momentum to move forward. Understanding how the two work together to build a novel allows a writer to create a strong a powerful romance that will keep readers turning pages.
About the author:
Dee Davis has a BA in Political Science and History, and a Masters Degree in Public Administration. During a ten-year career in public relations, she spent three years on the public speaking circuit, edited two newsletters, wrote three award winning public service announcements, did television and radio commercials, starred in the Seven Year Itch, taught college classes, lobbied both the Texas State Legislature and the US Congress, and served as the director of two associations.
Her highly acclaimed first novel, Everything In Its Time, was published in July 2000. Since then, among others, she’s won the Booksellers Best, Golden Leaf, Texas Gold and Prism awards, and been nominated for the National Readers Choice Award, the Holt and two RT Reviewers Choice Awards.
Recently she was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York Romance Writers and has also been nominated for a Lifetime Achievement Award for romantic suspense from Romantic Times. In addition, she is Hall of Fame member of the New Jersey Romance Writers and was awarded an Odyssey Medal from Hendrix College.
To date, she has written over 30 novels and novellas including romantic suspense, time travel, and women’s fiction. Among her latest books you’ll find her Random Heroes Collection and her newest novel Cottage in the Mist.
She’s lived in Austria and traveled in Europe extensively. And although she now resides in an 1802 farmhouse in Connecticut she still calls Texas home.
Shared on all my socials!!